


Realisation

by WesterosiPriestess



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-30
Updated: 2013-10-30
Packaged: 2017-12-30 23:48:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1024843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WesterosiPriestess/pseuds/WesterosiPriestess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Stannis FicArt Week. From the prompt: AU where Robert meets Melisandre and Stannis hates his brother more than usual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Realisation

**Author's Note:**

> So, I don't think this is really what the original prompt was asking for but the idea sort of snowballed. Hope you like it anyway!

Of the three Baratheon brothers, Stannis knew he was the only one who actually liked his job. Although, 'liked' was a possible overstatement- he was the only one who actually bothered to make an effort. He was not a vain man but it was perfectly obvious that without him, the company would have gone under long ago. For one thing, Robert, C.E.O as he was, was hardly ever there, preferring to spend his time with card sharps and ladies of negotiable affection. And when Robert did bother to turn up, the only contribution he seemed to bring, in Stannis's eyes, was a loud, booming voice that let everybody know that Robert Baratheon was there and meant business. He may have meant business, but he hardly ever did any. Yes, that was Robert- the bitter thoughts filled Stannis's head as he strode into the big Baratheon building one morning- all talk and absolutely no action. Renly was almost as bad; he did usually turn up for work, but flirting with his effeminate secretary seemed to be much higher on his list of priorities than actually doing anything useful. Thankfully, Stannis didn't have that problem; his own new secretary was efficient, focused and she had no more designs on him than the plantpot on his desk did. 

These things considered, it wasn't dread that filled Stannis's mind when he stepped out of the lift and heard Robert's big, booming laugh. Mild irritation was a more accurate description; of course be was pleased Robert had come to work but there was no earthly reason for Robert to be on this floor for any other purpose except baiting Stannis. As the middle Baratheon marched down the corridor to his office, Robert's laughter sounding louder every second, he was playing out possible scenarios that would meet his eyes when he turned the corner. However, the picture he did see had not even occurred to him. His usually formal, controlled secretary, Melisandre, was sat with crossed legs, repeatedly touching her hair and giggling up at his large, broad brother who was leaning against her desk with his chest puffed out, presumably telling some ribald joke. Stannis cleared his throat and strode forward into his office. To his surprise, Robert actually followed him, instead of continuing his flirtation and shut the door behind them. As Stannis sat down behind his desk, Robert ambled over and slapped him on the back. '  
'Have you had that yet?' Robert gestured outside the closed door, an inane grin on his face.  
'If you're asking me if I've slept with my secretary, I'm fairly sure you can guess the answer'- glowering back up at his brother, Stannis's mild irritation was growing by the second. He was about to warn the other man off and then remembered who he was talking to; such an action would be like waving a red flag to a bull.   
'Oh, of course. You're Stannis Baratheon- too stiff to get a stiffy. I don't get it. That specimen out there is ridiculously gorgeous, obviously easy and right outside your door' Robert shook his head while Stannis snorted in derision.   
'Funnily enough, I don't actually choose women on the basis of their proximity to my office.' The kindling of irritation had lit up somewhere around 'ridiculously gorgeous' and was now burning like a thatch roof. To Stannis's relief, Robert shook his head and strolled back over to the doorway, pausing only to offer some final words of wisdom;   
'Let's face it, Stan- you don't choose women at all'.

As his brother left, Stannis scowled and ground his teeth. Certainly, Robert was ridiculous, but he didn't quite understand why he now had a fairly burning fury smoking away inside him. When Melisandre entered his office with a sheaf of papers twenty minutes later, he barely even looked at her. In fact, Stannis sulked in silence for the rest of the day, lurid images of his red-haired assistant and his balding brother in compromising positions in the stationary cupboard flashing frequently through his mind. He hardly looked up when his secretary popped her head round the door at quarter to six to tell him she was going home. His brow creased into a frown when, instead of just waving and leaving like she normally did, Melisandre strode forwards into his office, apparently intent on having a conversation. 

'Isn't it odd that I'd never met your brother before today?' Her friendly manner was nothing unusual, but today it seemed to grate right on his nerves. 'He does run the company, after all.' '  
'Don't be ridiculous' Stannis only realised how harsh the words sounded after they left his mouth, but did nothing to alleviate his tone 'You won't have seen Robert before today, because you don't spend most of your time in a brothel or a casino. How do you think he manages to run the company from there?'  
'Alright, so you run the company, in effect. But he was very nice' she shrugged, folding her arms across her chest and seemingly unoffended by him snapping at her. He realised, with a slight pang of guilt whose source he couldn't quite place, that she was probably used to it.   
'Oh,, very nice, I'm sure. Nice enough for you to let him tumble you in a stationary cupboard?' The words had left his mouth before he realised he had even thought them, and there was a steely glint in Melisandre's eyes. Stannis tried to backtrack, some awful sexual harassment charges flashing through his mind, but he just managed to mumble incoherently; he was not even sure what he wanted to say.   
'If you're insinuating that I slept or would sleep with your brother to get ahead- A, you are completely wrong, and B, you obviously don't have very good judgement if you think you hired a whore for your secretary' Melisandre's voice was cool and calm, but there was a flicker in her eyes that made Stannis bite his tongue. Frankly, he was slightly amazed. It was the first time she had spoken to him anything but respectfully and to his even greater surprise, he was not angry. He felt he was sparring with an equal, as opposed to ticking off an inferior. However, he still didn't know what he wanted to say.  
'.... You were flirting with him' was what came out, so sullen he sounded like a schoolboy. Instantly, he cursed himself; what the hell did it matter to him if she was or not? As if to make up for his sulky voice, Stannis just glared at the woman standing across from him. He severely doubted it was helping but surely couldn't make things much worse. He felt embarrassed and if there was one thing Stannis hated to be, it was embarrassed. It was the primary emotion he had felt as a boy, and still felt almost every time he was in Robert's presence. To his relief, Melisandre was not glaring back at him. Instead, she was smiling, obviously amused, and he wasn't sure if that was better or worse. 'Yes, I was' her smile was unreadable; Stannis couldn't tell if she was laughing at him or trying to display some form of affection 'He's the boss. It would be rather impolite to sit there stony faced in response to his flirtation, would it not?' For a reason that was inexplicable even to himself, Stannis felt as though someone had just taken the weight of the world off his shoulders.  
'You are not... You do not...' He trailed off, not sure why he was feeling a sense of relief. Melisandre, on the other hand, was now smiling rather broadly.   
'No, Stannis. I do not'. He felt stuck in place as she bent down and pressed burning lips to the corner of his mouth. The warmth coming from her did nothing to thaw his frozen body, even as his mind raced. 

Oh, I see.

He could have laughed at how obvious it was if he was not annoyed at himself for not figuring it out earlier and her for knowing his mind better than he did.  
'I shall see you tomorrow' before he could move, she had slipped away, out of the door, and shut it behind her, leaving only the small photo of his daughter on his desk for company. 

Well. This was most inconvenient. And he could not decide if he hated Robert more, or less.


End file.
